In a completely unexpected turn of events, in Episode 7 of Inuyashiki, Hiro goes through some major character development, to the extent where I almost completely forgot about Ichiro’s existence.

Japanese Original Episode Title: 渡辺しおん

Plot

Hiro, after going on a killing spree on 2channers, decides to go back home to Shion and her grandmother. Having spent a day in bed, Shion worries about him and tries to approach him and discuss the murders he’s been accused for. Shishigami opens up to her and confesses to all his crimes, and even explains to her his experience of becoming a robot, demonstrating it by taking her on a flight with him above the city. As she realizes he is planning to kill her, Shion begs him not to leave her and her grandma. She is terribly frustrated on the fact that Shishigami cannot possibly make things right after killing so many people. He, however, is deeply touched by her behaviour, and promises to save lives to repent for the people he has killed.

Shion and Shishigami start approaching people on Twitter and asking them to secret meetings, so that Hiro can use his healing powers on them. The whole endeavour is very successful and Hiro ends up saving the lives of many, bringing happiness to both Shion and himself, somehow. Just as about everything is going swell, I immediately got that feeling that this cannot be right. Characters like Hiro are never given a free pass like this. And that is when the police stormed Shion’s house about to attack. WHY.

Episode Highlights

Home and refuge: The first sign that Hiro is starting to develop feelings for Shion and her grandmother is the fact that he keeps returning to them. Being a machine, he does not really need any food or shelter to survive, but he does seek out the warmth of Shion’s home. That not only allows for the relationship to grow but also builds empathy towards Hiro’s character who had so far had a very bad introduction, and restores some balance.

Coping mechanisms: Even though my first impression of Hiro was that he was just a psychopath enabled by his newly acquired power, this episode made me feel like his character is heading towards that of one who is struggling to maintain the illusion of being a human through the thrill of murder. His hopeless statements like ‘I cannot bleed anymore’ are also indicators of that. Not that this doesn’t necessarily not make him a psychopath, mind you.

Where is this going?: If you found yourself wondering ‘where is this episode going?’ you are not the only one. So is Hiro a good person now? Is he going to start being a Good Samaritan, just like Ichiro? Not exactly. He, not having his own clear will, is adapting to the one of the people he cares about. And that looks good, but there is no way that any scriptwriter that respects themselves would leave such a peaceful situation to continue. A strong tension will be coming soon.

Nothing can be done anymore: Shion’s despair when flying with Hiro and her saying ‘I’m sad cause nothing can be done anymore’ referring to beinging back the people Hiro had killed, is one of the truest human feelings I’ve found to be portrayed in the show. This hopelessness is what moves Hiro to attempt and fix what he has done. One could say that he is driven by challenges.

Granma’s farts: I mean, that was pretty damn hilarious.

Themes & Trivia

Flight: I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch any anime couple fly around without getting Miyazaki voices all over the place.

If only it were that simple

It really was weirdly painful to watch this episode. Mainly because the whole time I felt so aware of the temporality of Hiro and Shion’s situation and was waiting for something bad to happen, and of course it did.

How did you find this week’s Inuyashiki episode? Let us know in the comment section below! See you next week with another Inuyashiki episode review on MANGA.TOKYO!